cast biographies

Please click on an image below for further information on the cast members of Cape Breton Lyrics & Laughter.

COLIN GRANT	MEAGHAN GRANT	MICHELLE MILLS
ANDREW TYNE	ERIC ANGUS WHYTE	ADAM YOUNG

CAPE BRETON LYRICS & LAUGHTER

In January, 2002, the Louisbourg Playhouse Society placed an advertisement in the Cape Breton Post, calling for proposals for a new summer theatre production to be held at the Playhouse. The show would run five days per week, all summer long, and would feature vivacious Cape Breton music mixed with side-splitting comedy. There would be lots of fiddle tunes and lots of dancing, and the production would showcase some of the Island's finest talents.

Answering the call was Adam Young, at the time a student at the University College of Cape Breton (now Cape Breton University), who would be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Celtic Studies. He was becoming well-known for his abilities on the piano, having taken part in several local theatre productions, including shows for the Boardmore Playhouse in Sydney and the Festival on the Bay in Glace Bay. He submitted a proposal outlining his ideas for the show, and had chosen a cast of seven (including himself). All of the cast members were students at UCCB, except for one, who would begin attending the university after the show wrapped in September.

Included in the original cast were Egan Baird, Colin Grant, Meaghan Grant, Caelin MacAulay, Dee MacKinnon, Jason Murdock, and Adam Young. Egan provided vocals and played various whistles and percussion instruments. Colin, fresh from graduating from Sydney Academy, joined as the group's fiddler, and also stepdanced, played the guitar, and added a little bit of comedy. Meaghan's talent shone as she sang and stepdanced, and played the piano, fiddle, and bodhran (a circular drum common in Irish music). Caelin and Dee provided vocals and performed in the comedy, and Jason was featured on guitar, vocals, and comedy. Adam, busy directing the production, also provided accompaniment on the piano and had a hand in the writing and performing of the show’s comedy.

Over the next several years, the production saw various cast changes, but the most significant change was the addition of Andrew Tyne, Michelle Mills, and Jason MacDonald during the second season (2003). Jason stayed with the production for two summers, eventually moving on to work on his solo career, and releasing two CDs, Leave My Mark (2002) and The Day (2005). Michelle and Andrew stayed with the show, and are currently enjoying their fifth summer with Lyrics & Laughter.

When Jason left the production at the close of the 2004 season, upcoming local singer/songwriter Eric Angus Whyte was chosen as a natural replacement for the 2005 summer season. Eric's great songwriting ability and dry wit have added a great deal to the production, and he is currently performing for his third season with Lyrics & Laughter. His debut CD, Always Home, was nominated for an East Coast Music Award in the Folk Recording of the Year category when the ECMAs were held in Sydney in 2005. His current CD project, Of Ckqessal Simmons will be released later this year.

To accomodate his triple role in Cape Breton Lyrics & Laughter, Island Mania, and the Acadian band Blou, Colin Grant split his 2005 summer season with local fiddler Jennifer Roland, who performed with the group for twenty-five performaces that summer. Jennifer is a multiple-ECMA nominee, and has released three albums of traditional and original Cape Breton fiddle tunes: Dedication, Wings, and her most recent release, For Each New Day. Jennifer is currently teaching fiddle and stepdance at her home studio, and tours both locally and internationally.

In preparation for the fifth season, the cast spent the spring of 2006 recording their debut album, a self-titled disc containing thirteen tracks representing the "best of" Cape Breton Lyrics & Laughter from the first five years. The disc is available at the Louisbourg Playhouse, and also online at www.castlebaymusic.com. In December 2006, Cape Breton Lyrics & Laughter was honoured with their first ECMA nomination in the category of Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year. Colin's debut, self-titled CD was also honoured with a nomination, his in the Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year category.

Cape Breton Lyrics & Laughter is performed at the Louisbourg Playhouse every weeknight from June 25 to August 31, 2007, at 8:00 PM. For more information about Lyrics & Laughter, other performances at the Louisbourg Playhouse, or ticket sales and ordering, please contact the Louisbourg Playhouse at 902.733.2996 or e-mail lsbg.playhouse@ns.sympatico.ca.